Shedim
Shedim are Awakened entites, frequently categorized as spirits. They are often regarded as one of the more dangerous denizens of the Awakened world; a Shedim is a spirit that can inhabit the body of a recently killed creature or an astrally projecting Awakened. The Shedim seem to possess a resentment and hatred towards living things, and have seemed to go out of their way to kill whenever possible. Shedim seem to have a loose social hierarchy among themselves; the more powerful ones seem to have a degree of authority over others, though to what extent is unknown. The Shedim encountered in-game so far have exhibited powers such as an ability to paralyze a target with fear or blacken and decay any organic matter in its vicinity. What other powers they might possess has yet to be seen. In-Game The group inadvertently released a large number of Shedim at the Rubicon during the conclusion of the armor plot. , so far, has been focused around finding and exterminating these Shedim; the first one was encountered at the Albert Schnauss concert, and taken out by Rune astrally from the other car. The second was found by Zan, in the sewer tunnels that were the territory of Tansion, a group of ghouls led by Simmer, a woman with whom Zan had been acquainted before her infection. The most recent encounter was on Thanksgiving at Vanessa's complex in the forest; it had inhabited the body of a bear and drawn Zan to it. Plans? In the same area where Tansion was destroyed after the group came in to take care of the Shedim, they ended up fighting BB, gang which took over Tansion's territory, whom was also shielding Shedim. One of these was a Shedim known as Hashashi. The group however had to retreat when Sofia took too many bullets from a BB's submachine gun, leaving Hashashi behind. In their retreat Hashashi yelled that they could not stop “the legion.” BB had been gathering corpses in the sewers, possible vacant vessels for other Shedim to inhabit. When the group talked to Amber of their situation they learned that the Shedim were actually after Mr. Qi, since he was the one who imprisoned them inside the armor of the armor plot and the Shedim were seeking revenge, reported from the information gathered by Zhang Jiang's interrogation of the Golden Elixir's captured Shedim. Mr. Qi has since left Seattle after the conclusion of the armor plot, before the interrogation of the captured triad Shedim. It is unclear why Mr. Qi imprisoned them in the first place. During the group's jobs with the Voodoo Cartels, Resnais, leader of the Cool Sun, had been apparently killed and inhabited by a Shedim known as “Smoke.” However, the group was not able to get Smoke as it seemed that Vakune's (Resnais' enemy who apparently had a hand in Resnais' death) right hand, Simple, betrayed Vakune to an unknown and well armed group who captured Smoke for themselves before anyone could stop them, ascending on numerous heavy attack helicopters into the Seattle night sky. Powers and Capabilties Shedim are spirits that cannot manifest in the physical world. In order for them to interact with the physical world they need a vacant body. Know accessible vacant bodies for Shedim include corpses and the limp bodies of astral projecting awakens. Some Shedim are known to possess awaken characteristics similar to the many traditions available to awakened spell casters. It may also be possible for a Shedim to posses awakened somatic capabilities and it is rumored that some may be technomancers as well (hinted by Black Teletubbies Pee Wee Herman Hitler Viral Video ). However many of these powers, except for mana dependent ones, are useless unless the Shedim can posses a vacant body. Shedim suffer in the astral plane of the planet Earth and bodies provide them refuge from the harmfulness of Earth's astral plane. If a Shedim remains bodiless for too long they will simply be destroyed. The bodies that Shedim posses do not carry with them the capabilities of the original host. If a non spell casting Shedim inhabits a spell casting awaken, they still will not be able to cast spells. Regardless of being spell casters or not, Shedim do posses other natural powers that can be quite deadly. They are able to inspire dire fear in their enemies at a constant and persistent rate. Their general goals in battle are to paralyze some one with fear so that they can feast upon the victim's essence (and actually drain karma if one is not careful), transferring any benefits they get from the drain directly to the Shedim. Shedim are also able to warp and destroy life around them. Since the Shedim are not of the Earth's astral plane and are native to a world completely different from Earth's own mana, they react to their surroundings, which generally consist of living organic life from plats to bacteria, with death. Any helpless living thing that is around a Shedim is subject to instant death. Some Shedim are known to be able to summon other Shedim. These Shedim are called master Shedim. It is believed that there is a hierarchy amongst Shedim consisting of masters and servants, but further details into this relationship are unknown. Known Seattle Shedim The Music Lover Tried to follow the group after the Albert Schnauss concert. Was discovered following them and had abducted a body of one of the concert goers in order to follow. Was killed by Rune. The Screamer A Shedim that cornered the group after a firefight in the sewers around the Redmond Reservoir. Was very successful at sewing fear in the group's ranks in an attempt to leave them helpless, however it failed and was killed by Sofia. "The Purple Advisor" Initially escaped the Tansion assault and ended up amongst BB's ranks with Hashashi. Later killed in the Redmond Reservoir sewers when the group went after BB, whom took over Tansion's old territory. Killed by Rune. Grizzly Found in the forests surrounding the compound where the group was having Thanksgiving with Dr. Vanessa Drake. After an air of magical deception, it was lit up with machine gun fire from Teucer and finished off by Sofia. Hashashi Hashashi was first encountered in the Redmond Reservoir sewers during BB's expansion, Hashashi was later found in a BB safe house in Renton. Killed by Sofia and Rune. The Prisoner With the promise of Amber's accompaniment to China to dispose of the armor, Amber promised the group that she would help them get the one in Zhang Jiang's hands. Amateretsu and Venus were led to an unknown prison where it was being kept by The Golden Elixir Triads. It was in the shape of a defenseless Japanese woman. Closer investigation led it to be known as a Shedim. Amateretsu killed it. Smoke Believed to be heading an initiative to stop the Cool Sun, Smoke was captured by an unknown force believed to be called “Como Boca de Lobo;” a secret black ops group believed to be working for Aztechnology. It is believed that Smoke is still alive, but location is unknown. Minotaur Caged like an evil demon in the Puyalup Z-zone and fed sacrifices from a cult known as “Black Dawn,” the Minotaur is still alive. The group's pre-game involvement with Shedim Venus, whom at one time was a Sioux Wildcat, specialized in dealing with awakened threats. One of these threats was a Shedim who initially inhabited an Eco Terrorist by the name of Burning Bear, making the terrorist group become more extreme and targeting of people rather than bombing corporate facilities believed to be ravaging Earth's natural resources. This Shedim inadvertently (or already was) became a compulsive gambler and obsessed with calculating odds and such odds of mission success were found written at the sites of murders and areas destroyed by the Burning Bear Shedim. After Venus retired from the Wildcats she got a message of “The odds of your death at my hands are now 4 out of 5. Have a great Monday!”, with no return address via the matrix. She reminded herself of the Burning Bear Shedim and began to contact her former squad, whom she later discovered were turning up dead. Venus, then Orenda, whom was in LA (which probably saved her life) escaped from her open surroundings and went to ground, hiding in an apartment for a few months. She found out through her contact friend, Atari, that Moran, a famed North American smuggler, had a contract out for Venus' capture. Apparently the Burning Bear Shedim re-emerged as the Moran Shedim. She got on a boat later headed for the Yucatan, which was the initial beginning for her in the Yucatan campaign. Chapter 2